Input device using magnetic field for input detection

ABSTRACT

Described are examples of an input device having a wheel with a plurality of teeth, where at least the plurality of teeth are composed of a ferrous or magnetic material. A magnet is disposed to provide a first magnetic field that attracts the ferrous or magnetic material of the plurality of teeth to provide a detent action when moving the wheel from a first position to a second position. A magnet sheet is disposed to provide a second magnetic field that causes the magnet sheet to deform based on magnetic attraction to the ferrous or magnetic material of the plurality of teeth when moving the wheel from the first position to the second position. A strain sensor coupled to the magnet sheet can detect a strain caused by deformation of the magnet sheet, and provide an electronic signal indicating the strain.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 119

The present Application for Patent claims priority to Chinese PatentApplication No. 201710179061.2 entitled “INPUT DEVICE USING MAGNETICFIELD FOR INPUT DETECTION” filed in the State Intellectual PropertyOffice of China on Mar. 23, 2017, which is assigned to the assigneehereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

Use of computing devices is becoming more ubiquitous by the day.Computing devices often employ a variety of input devices to allow auser to interact with the computing device. Some computing devices allowuse of a mouse to cause movement of a cursor on a display of thecomputing devices. A mouse typically has one or more wheels configuredto cause an input on the computing device, which is typically ascrolling action to scroll through a document or other item graphicallypresented on the display of the device. The wheels are typicallymechanical in nature and include a ratchet hub that engages one or morespring members to provide a detent action and/or detect movement of thewheel among various ratcheted positions. Over time, these mechanicalparts can breakdown, which may cause failure of the wheel as an inputmechanism of the mouse.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an example, an input device is provided including a wheel having acore having a plurality of teeth disposed on an outer edge of the corewith a plurality of grooves between the plurality of teeth, where atleast the plurality of teeth are composed of a ferrous or magneticmaterial. The input device also includes a magnet disposed to provide afirst magnetic field that attracts the ferrous or magnetic material ofthe plurality of teeth to provide a detent action when moving the wheelfrom a first position to a second position, and a magnet sheet disposedto provide a second magnetic field that causes the magnet sheet todeform based on magnetic attraction to the ferrous or magnetic materialof the plurality of teeth when moving the wheel from the first positionto the second position. The input device additionally includes a strainsensor coupled to the magnet sheet and configured to detect a straincaused by deformation of the magnet sheet, and provide an electronicsignal indicating the strain.

In another example, a method for generating signals at an input deviceis provided. The method includes detecting, via a strain sensor, astrain that achieves a threshold, where the strain is applied by amagnet sheet deforming via magnetic attraction to one or more of aplurality of teeth of a core of a wheel moving from a first position toa second position, where the plurality of teeth are composed of aferrous material. The method also includes generating, via a processor,an electronic signal based on the strain achieving the threshold, andtransmitting, via the processor, the electronic signal to a computingdevice using an interface between the computing device and the inputdevice.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of an input device with wiresfor providing signals from a strain sensor.

FIG. 2A is cross sectional view along line 2A-2A of the input device ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the cross section of the input deviceof FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a perspective view of the cross section of a wheel and magnetstructure of the input device of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2D is a perspective view of the cross section of another example ofthe wheel, having teeth with an asymmetric profile, and magnet structureof the input device of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away perspective view of an example of a mousethat can employ the input device described herein.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of a computing environmentincluding a computing device that can receive signals from an inputdevice.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example of a method for providing signalsfrom an input device to a computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well-known components are shown in blockdiagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

This disclosure describes various examples of an input device for acomputing device that is configured with a plurality of magnets toprovide perceived mechanical action for movement of the input deviceand/or to detect movement of the input device. For example, the inputdevice may be an encoder including a wheel with a core having aplurality of teeth disposed on an outer edge of the core, with aplurality of grooves between the plurality of teeth, in a gear or coglike structure. The plurality of teeth, and/or the entire core, may becomposed of a ferrous or magnetic material. The input device may alsoinclude a magnet disposed to provide a magnetic field that attracts theferrous or magnetic material of the plurality of teeth, and hence thatresists movement of each tooth away from the magnet, to provide a detentaction (e.g., at each tooth of the core) when moving the wheel amongvarious positions. In addition, a magnet sheet can be disposed toprovide another magnetic field that causes the magnet sheet to deform incorrelation with the detent action based on magnetic attraction to theferrous or magnetic material of the plurality of teeth when moving thewheel among the various positions. A strain sensor can be coupled to themagnet sheet and configured to detect a strain (or force) caused by thedeformation of the magnet sheet. The strain sensor can provide anelectronic signal indicating strain. Thus, for example, there can be aone-to-one correspondence between each detent action as the wheel movesamong positions and each deformation of the magnet sheet that results insufficient strain for the strain sensor to generate the electronicsignal. In an implementation, the electronic signal may be an encodersignal corresponding to movement of the wheel, where the encoder signalcan be provided as an input to a computer device, such as to controlscrolling through a document or other item graphically presented on thedisplay of the device, control volume input on an audio device, etc.

Turning now to FIGS. 1-5, examples are depicted with reference to one ormore components and one or more methods that may perform the actions oroperations described herein, where components and/or actions/operationsin dashed line may be optional. Although the operations described belowin FIG. 5 are presented in a particular order, the ordering of theactions and the components performing the actions may be varied, in someexamples, depending on the implementation. Moreover, in some examples,one or more of the actions, functions, and/or described components maybe performed by a specially-programmed processor, a processor executingspecially-programmed software or computer-readable media, or by anyother combination of a hardware component and/or a software componentcapable of performing the described actions or functions.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 2C, an example input device 100 caninclude a wheel 104 and a housing 106 to which the wheel 104 isrotatably mounted. The housing 106 may include an axle 108 to which ahub 109 of the wheel 104 can attach to facilitate rotational movement ofthe wheel 104 about the axle 108 in the direction 107. In an example,the wheel 104 can include a core 110 fixedly attached to the hub 109,wherein the core 110 has a plurality of teeth 111 defined by acorresponding plurality of grooves 105. For instance, the core 110 maybe a gear, or may have a cog-like shape with the plurality of teeth 111substantially equally spaced between a plurality of grooves around thecore 110. In one example, at least a portion of the plurality of teeth111 can be composed of a ferrous or magnetic material that can beattracted to a magnetic field. In another example, all of the pluralityof teeth 111 and/or the entire core 110 of the wheel 104 may be composedof ferrous or magnetic material. Additionally, the wheel 104 may includea protective layer 112 disposed over the core 110. For example, theprotective layer 112 may include, but is not limited to, an elastomericmaterial, such as silicone, or any other material to provide a morecomfortable surface (e.g., to a user touching the wheel 104) than theplurality of teeth 111. In addition, the protective layer 112 mayinclude a plurality of detents or ridges 113 to provide a texture to thesurface to allow for increased grip when a user rotates the wheel 104.

Input device 100 may also include one or more magnets 114 fixedlymounted within the housing 106 in a position to generate a magneticfield that can attract one or more of the plurality of teeth 111 of thewheel 104. For instance, the one or more magnets 114 may be securedwithin one or more internal walls of a support frame 115, which isfixedly mounted within one or more internal walls of the housing 106.The one or more magnets 114 can be positioned within the housing 106 ata sufficient distance from, and/or situated tangentially spaced apartfrom, the wheel 104 to allow the plurality of teeth 111 to be attractedto the magnetic field. For example, the one or more magnets 114 may bepositioned such that an end of the one or more magnets 114 with a Northpole polarity faces the wheel 104 so as to magnetically attract theplurality of teeth 111. For example, the one or more magnets 114 mayinclude a plurality of magnets stacked on top of one another with theNorth pole of each of the plurality of magnets facing the wheel 104. Inanother example, the one or more magnets 114 may include a plurality ofmagnets configured as a Halbach array magnet such to have a spatiallyrotating pattern of magnetization. For example, the one or more magnets114 in this example can include a plurality of permanent magnets thataugment the magnetic field on the end facing the wheel 104 whilecancelling the field nearly to zero on the opposing end, e.g., the endnot facing the wheel. The one or more magnets can be placed at adistance from the wheel 104 to provide a desired level of detent forcewhen rotating the wheel 104.

The configuration of the plurality of magnets 114 can provide a detentaction when each of the plurality of teeth 111 of the wheel 104 isrotated to be positioned adjacent to the one or more magnets 114. Forexample, each time one tooth of the plurality of teeth 111 passes intothe magnetic field generated by the one or more magnets 114, the toothmay be attracted to the magnetic field, and may require less force tomove so that the magnetic field biases the tooth to be substantiallyaligned with the one or more magnets 114, for example, in a planealigned with line 117 (FIG. 2A), which is a plane in a highest strengthportion of the magnetic field. Accordingly, rotating the wheel 104 tomove the tooth (e.g., tooth 130) outside of the magnetic field, e.g.,outside of the plane of line 117 (FIG. 2A), may require additionalforce. As rotation of the wheel 104 continues, the next tooth (e.g.,tooth 132) may be attracted to the magnetic field, and so on, thusproviding a detent action when each of the plurality of teeth 111 isrotationally aligned with the magnetic field, e.g., along line 117.

Additionally, the input device 100 may include a magnet sheet 116 thatcan be used in combination with a strain sensor 118 to detect presenceof a tooth of the plurality of teeth 111 in a vicinity of the magnetsheet 116, based on magnetic attraction, as the wheel 104 is rotatedrelative to the magnet sheet 116. The magnet sheet 116 may includesubstantially any planar sheet of magnetic material that can beelastically deformed based on changes in a magnetic field. For example,the magnet sheet 116 may be positioned at a sufficient distance from,and/or situated in a plane tangentially spaced apart from, the wheel104, and may be aligned to have a polarity to provide an attractingmagnetic field at least at one side of the magnet sheet 116. Further,the magnet sheet 116 may have a size and thickness that allowsdeformation of a suspended portion (e.g., the middle area of the sheet)based on differences in a magnetic field. In an example, the magnetsheet 116 is fixedly mounted at one or more peripheral points or edgesbetween an internal wall of the housing 106 and an end wall of thesupport frame 115. With this configuration, as the wheel 104 is rotated,each tooth of the plurality of teeth 111 can cause at least a portion(e.g., a portion of the suspended middle area) of the magnet sheet 116to deform from a first state, relatively further away from the tooth, toa second deformed state, relatively closer to the tooth (e.g., towardthe tooth; perpendicular to a tangent of the wheel) by magneticattraction. The deformation of the portion of the magnet sheet 116 maybe at a maximum, for example, when the longitudinal axis of the tooth isaligned with line 117. Further, the portion of the magnet sheet 116 maydeform back to the first state as the tooth passes through and past themagnetic field, e.g., when the longitudinal axis of the tooth is rotatedout of alignment with line 117. The deformation of the portion of themagnet sheet 116 between the first state and the second deformed statecan be in the direction 119 (e.g., parallel to line 117).

As shown in FIG. 2C, the wheel 104 may rotate in a direction from thetop of the magnet sheet 116 to the bottom of the magnet sheet 116. Astooth 130 passes from a first position where the tooth is above line 117to a second position where the tooth is aligned with line 117, themagnet sheet 116 can deform from the first state starting at a point onthe magnet sheet 116 that is above the line 117, and can continue todeform as the wheel 104 rotates toward the line 117. As the wheel 104rotates toward the line 117, the point of maximum deformation of themagnet sheet 116 may change and align with the tooth 130, causing arocking type motion as the tooth 130 aligns with the line 117 andcontinues to move below line 117 as the wheel is rotated in thedirection of arrow 134. The strain sensor 118 can detect the deformationof the magnet sheet 116, and can accordingly generate a strain output.

The output from strain sensor 118 may indicate the area of the magnetsheet 116 having the point of maximum deformation. For example, theoutput from the strain sensor 118 may be a wave indicating the point ofmaximum deformation. Thus, the profile of the strain output (e.g., ofthe wave) may indicate whether the wheel 104 is rotating from the top ofthe magnet sheet 116 towards the bottom of the magnet sheet 116 or viceversa. For example, where the strain sensor 118 outputs a strain profileas a wave indicating strain relative to an area of the strain sensor 118(e.g., a center portion), the wave can indicate a position of a tooth130 relative to the area of the strain sensor 118, where a highest pointin the wave can indicate the wheel 104 is aligned with the area of thestrain sensor 118 (e.g., a center portion along line 117). In oneexample, though not shown, the wheel 104 or portion of the housing(e.g., hub 109, core 110, etc.) may include a sensor to track adirection of movement of the wheel 104 (e.g., in the direction of arrow134 or the opposite direction), which can additionally be output fromthe input device 100 (e.g., along with the strain or an indication of amovement caused by detecting that the strain on strain sensor 118achieves a threshold)

Additionally, in an example, the area of the strain sensor 118 may be anoff-center portion, such that the strain profile may indicate adirection of rotation of the wheel 104 (e.g., a shorter wave (induration) can indicate one direction of rotation (e.g., in the directionof arrow 134), and a longer wave can indicate the other direction ofrotation). In yet another example, the strain sensor 118 may output thestrain profile indicating strain at multiple areas of the strain sensor118, such as at positions around the center portion of the strain sensor118, and the wave profile can accordingly indicate a direction ofrotation. Thus, in any case, for example, a direction of movement of thewheel 104 can be accordingly determined based on the strain profile, andthe wheel 104 and/or housing 106 may not use a sensor to detect rotationdirection, as described above.

In another example, the plurality of teeth of the wheel 104 may have anasymmetric profile, as illustrated in FIG. 2D. In this example, thestrain profile output by strain sensor 118 as the wheel 104 rotates canindicate a direction of rotation. In this example, a wave with a longeronset (in duration) can indicate a direction of rotation in thedirection of arrow 134, as the side 138 of the teeth has a longer curvethan side 136. Similarly, for example, a wave with a shorter onset canindicate the other direction of rotation, opposite of arrow 134, as theside 136 of the teeth has a shorter curve than side 136. In yet anotherexample, the plurality of teeth may each have a different profile toindicate a direction of rotation (e.g., the plurality of teeth may havea pattern of three different profiles, and analyzing adjacent strainprofiles (e.g., adjacent in time) may indicate the direction ofrotation).

Additionally, the magnet sheet 116 can be coupled to the strain sensor118 such that the strain sensor 118 can detect when the magnet sheet 116deforms based on attraction to a tooth of the plurality of teeth 111,via a strain applied by the deformation. Suitable examples of the strainsensor 118 include, but are not limited to, a planar sheet of a materialwhose resistance changes when a strain or pressure is applied, e.g., afoil strain gauge, a strain-sensitive resistor, a piezoelectricmaterial, a strain gauge, or any other material or device that is ableto measure stress, strain, or force applied to, and/or deformation of,the magnet sheet 116. For example, the magnet sheet 116 and the strainsensor 118 may be coupled to one another such that deformation of themagnet sheet 116 causes deformation of the strain sensor 118, which thestrain sensor 118 can detect and convert into a corresponding electricalsignal. In one implementation, the magnet sheet 116 and strain sensor118 can be laminated into a single laminated object. As shown, in oneimplementation, the magnet sheet 116 can be positioned to face the wheel104 with the strain sensor 118 on the opposing side of the magnet sheet116; in another configuration, however, the strain sensor 118 canpositioned on the side of the magnet sheet 116 so that the strain sensor118 faces the wheel 104. Moreover, one or more apertures, such asaperture 120 between the magnet sheet 116 and/or the strain sensor 118and the end of the one or more magnets 114, or such as aperture 120between the magnet sheet 116 and/or the strain sensor 118 and the wheel104, may be defined by the configuration of the components to allowsufficient space for the deforming movement of the magnet sheet 116.

In any case, the strain sensor 118 can detect deformation of the magnetsheet 116 as a strain applied to the strain sensor 118. The strainsensor 118 can detect a magnitude of the strain, and can output thestrain to a processor for further processing. For example, strain thatachieves a threshold can be interpreted as movement of the wheel 104from a first rotational position (e.g., where a first longitudinal axisof tooth 130 is substantially in the plane in a highest strength portionof the magnetic field aligned along line 117) to a second position(e.g., where a first longitudinal axis of tooth 132 is substantially inthe plane in a highest strength portion of the magnetic field alignedalong line 117). Additionally, there can essentially be a one-to-onemapping between: (1) a detent action caused by attraction of a tooth ofthe plurality of teeth 111 to the magnetic field generated by the one ormore magnets 114, e.g., in alignment with line 117, when moving thewheel 104 from the first position to the second position; and (2) thedeformation of the magnet sheet 116 having a strain sufficient to beinterpreted as movement of the wheel 104 from the first position to thesecond position. In other words, the first position of the wheel 104 maycorrespond to a first portion of the wheel 104 (e.g., a first tooth)being adjacent to the one or more magnets 114, e.g., aligned with line117, and the second position may correspond to a second portion of thewheel 104 (e.g., an adjacent second tooth) being adjacent to the one ormore magnets 114, e.g., aligned with line 117. Thus, in this case, thefirst and second positions are rotational positions of the wheel 104corresponding to an angular position of a longitudinal axis of adjacentteeth of the plurality of teeth 111.

In other examples, interpretation of movement of the wheel 104 from thefirst position to the second position may correspond to detecting acombination of strains (or forces) via the strain sensor 118 (e.g., astrain achieving a first threshold followed by a strain achieving asecond threshold, etc.). In any case, a processor (not shown) caninterpret strain measurements from the strain sensor 118 to determinemovement of the wheel 104 among a plurality of positions. For example,the processor may then provide one or more signals, such as but notlimited to a pulse train, indicative of the movement, velocity,direction, and/or position of the wheel 104, to a computing device via awired or wireless interface.

Additionally, the strain sensor 118 can be housed within the housing 106and connected to one or more wires 121, 123 for providing strainmeasurements or related signals from the strain sensor 118.

Thus, the input device 100 may be configured such that the one or moremagnets 114 generate a magnetic field that biases a respective tooth tothe plurality of teeth 111 of the wheel 104 to be aligned along line117. Further, while in this aligned position, the correspondingattraction between the magnet sheet 116 and the respective tooth causesdeformation of the magnet sheet 116, which may be detected by the strainsensor 118. Therefore, as the wheel 104 rotates, the strain sensor 118can output an electrical signal corresponding to the deformation of themagnet sheet 116 caused by the corresponding strain on the strain sensor118, which indicates the movement, velocity, direction, and/or positionof the wheel 104. In some implementations, this configuration of theinput device 100 may provide a touchless, inexpensive, efficient, andaccurate encoding device.

Referring to FIG. 3, an example of a perspective view of a mouse 300that can employ input device 100 is illustrated. For example, mouse 300can comprise a mouse that can employ the wheel 104, housing 106, etc.,of input device 100 to receive an input from a user of the mouse 300,e.g., to control scrolling through a document or other item graphicallypresented on a display of a computing device in communication with themouse. For example, mouse 300 can include a wire 302, which can beconnected to an interface for communicating with a computing device(e.g., via a processor, not shown) to provide signals related to thesignals received from the strain sensor 118, which may indicatemovement, velocity, direction, and/or position of the wheel 104 in themouse 300. In an example, other configurations of the input device 100can be envisioned, such as positioned within a housing of a computingdevice (e.g., for providing a scrolling feature, audio volumeadjustment, or substantially any programmable input), which may includea personal computing device, a computing device in an automobile, etc.,positioned on a joystick or gamepad, positioned on an electronic pen,positioned on a home appliance or other Internet of Things (IoT) device,etc.

Referring to FIG. 4, an example of a schematic view of a computingenvironment 400 is illustrated. Computing environment 400 can include acomputing device 402, such as a personal computer, a tablet computer,hybrid computer (e.g., a tablet computer with a detachable keyboard),etc. In this example, computing device 402 can include a processor 404for executing instructions corresponding to an operating system, one ormore applications executing on the operating system, etc. Computingdevice 402 can also include an interface component 406 for communicatingwith other devices, such as an input device 410. Computing device 402may also optionally include or be connected to a display 408, such as aliquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display, etc., configured todisplay output from the computing device 402.

Computing environment 400 can also include an input device 410 forproviding input to the computing device 402. For example, input device410 may include input device 100 for providing input corresponding tomovement of the wheel 104. Input device 410 may include a processor 412for receiving signals from the strain sensor 118 and providingcorresponding signals to computing device 402 via interface component414. In a specific example, interface components 406, 414 can includesubstantially any wired or wireless interface components (e.g.,universal serial bus (USB), firewire, etc., ports, Bluetooth, wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), near field communication (NFC), etc.transceivers, and/or the like) that facilitate communicating signalsbetween input device 410 and computing device 402. In an example, strainsensor 118 can provide strain measurements to processor 412, which maybe caused by deformation of the magnet sheet 116 that is attached to thestrain sensor 118, as described. Processor 412 may generate one or moresignals for communicating to computing device 402 based on measurementsfrom the strain sensor 118 (e.g., signals indicating detected strainthat corresponds to movement, velocity, direction, and/or position ofthe wheel 104 of the input device 410).

Referring to FIG. 5, in conjunction with FIG. 4, an example of a method500 for generating signals from an input device is illustrated. Forexample, method 500 can be performed by one or more input devices, asdescribed herein, such as at least one of input devices 100, 410, mouse300, etc.

In method 500, at action 502, a strain that achieves a threshold can bedetected, where the strain is based on a magnet sheet deforming viamagnetic attraction to a rotating wheel of an input device. For example,the strain sensor 118, e.g., in conjunction with processor 412, candetect the strain that achieves the threshold. As described and shownfor input device 100, the strain sensor 118 may be coupled to the magnetsheet 116, and the wheel 104 can include the core 110 having theplurality of teeth 111 that can cause deformation of a suspended portionof the magnet sheet 116 based on magnetic attraction between the magnetsheet 116 and a tooth of the plurality of teeth 111. Thus, the magnetsheet 116 can deform towards and away from the wheel 104 (in direction119) as the wheel 104 rotates. When processor 412 detects a strain thatachieves a threshold strain (e.g., and/or one or more other strains thatachieve one or more other thresholds), the processor 412 can determinethat the wheel is moved from a first position to a second position. Inaddition, as described, based on the detected strain profile (e.g., apresent strain and previous strain or otherwise strain over a period oftime), the processor 412 may determine a direction in which the wheelrotated 104 respective to the magnet sheet 116.

In method 500, at action 504, an electronic signal can be generatedbased on the strain achieving the threshold. For example, processor 412can generate the electronic signal based on the strain achieving thethreshold. Processor 412 can generate the signal to be interpreted bythe computing device 402 as a movement, velocity, direction, and/orposition of the wheel of the input device 410, e.g., when moving from afirst position to second position. For example, processor 412 maygenerate the signal to indicate whether the wheel is moved forward orbackward respective to its positioning within an input device, such as amouse, based on the profile of the detected strain (and/or previousstrain), as described.

In method 500, at action 506, the electronic signal can be transmittedto a computing device using an interface between the computing deviceand the input device. For example, processor 412 can transmit, e.g., viainterface component 414, the electronic signal to the computing device402 using the interface between the computing device 402 and inputdevice 410. In an example, processor 412 can transmit the electronicsignal to the computing device 402 using a wired interface, such as USB,firewire, etc., a wireless interface, such as Bluetooth, WLAN, NFC,etc., and/or the like. In an example, the computing device 402 mayinterpret the signal as a command to provide a scrolling feature in anactive application to navigate a document, web page, etc. For example,the scroll may be an up scroll or down scroll (or left or right scroll),etc., which can be determined based on the direction indicated by thestrain profile.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented with a “processing system”that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, andother suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalitydescribed throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in theprocessing system may execute software. Software shall be construedbroadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments,program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications,software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines,objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc.,whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more aspects, one or more of the functionsdescribed may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or anycombination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may bestored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computerstorage media. Storage media may be any available media that can beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includescompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), and floppy disk where disks usually reproduce data magnetically,while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of theabove should also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. All structural andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects describedherein that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosedherein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whethersuch disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element isto be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expresslyrecited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. An input device, comprising: a housing; a wheelrotatably mounted to the housing, the wheel comprising a core having aplurality of teeth disposed on an outer edge of the core with aplurality of grooves between the plurality of teeth, wherein at leastthe plurality of teeth are composed of a ferrous or magnetic material; amagnet mounted within the housing to provide a first magnetic field thatattracts the ferrous or magnetic material of the plurality of teeth toprovide a detent action when moving the wheel from a first position to asecond position; a magnet sheet mounted within the housing to provide asecond magnetic field that causes at least a portion of the magnet sheetto deform based on magnetic attraction to the ferrous or magneticmaterial of the plurality of teeth when moving the wheel from the firstposition to the second position; and a strain sensor coupled to themagnet sheet and configured to: detect a strain caused by deformation ofthe magnet sheet; and provide an electronic signal indicating thestrain.
 2. The input device of claim 1, wherein the strain sensor isconfigured to provide the electronic signal based at least in part ondetecting that the strain caused by deformation of the magnet sheetachieves a threshold strain.
 3. The input device of claim 1, wherein themagnet sheet is fixed at one or more peripheral edges in the housing andhas a suspend portion in a middle area.
 4. The input device of claim 1,wherein the magnet includes a plurality of permanent magnets configuredsuch that adjacent magnets of the plurality of permanent magnets have asimilar pole facing the wheel such that a portion of the plurality ofpermanent magnets provide the first magnetic field that attracts theferrous or magnetic material of the plurality of teeth when the wheel ismoved from the first position to the second position.
 5. The inputdevice of claim 1, wherein the magnet includes a plurality of magnetsconfigured in a Halbach array providing the first magnetic field on anend nearest the plurality of teeth on the wheel.
 6. The input device ofclaim 1, wherein the first position corresponds to a first rotationalposition of the wheel where a first longitudinal axis of a first toothof the plurality of teeth is aligned with a plane corresponding to ahighest strength portion of the magnetic field of the magnet, andwherein the second position corresponds to a second rotational positionof the wheel where a second longitudinal axis of a second tooth of theplurality of teeth is aligned with the plane corresponding to thehighest strength portion of the magnetic field of the magnet, whereinthe first tooth and the second tooth are adjacent teeth among theplurality of teeth.
 7. The input device of claim 1, further comprising aprocessor that receives the electronic signal from the strain sensor andtransmits a corresponding electronic signal to a computing device via aninterface between the input device and the computing device.
 8. Theinput device of claim 7, wherein the strain sensor transmits thecorresponding electronic signal to the computing device based at leastin part on determining that the strain indicated by the electronicsignal achieves a threshold strain.
 9. The input device of claim 7,wherein the computing device displays a scrolling action based on theelectronic signal received from the input device.
 10. The input deviceof claim 7, wherein the input device is situated in a mouse configuredto transmit the corresponding electronic signals to the computingdevice.
 11. The input device of claim 7, wherein the computing devicecontrols an audio volume based on the electronic signal received fromthe input device.
 12. The input device of claim 1, wherein the magnetsheet is disposed within the housing in a plane tangentially spacedapart from the wheel.
 13. The input device of claim 1, wherein thestrain sensor is coupled with the magnet sheet to define a laminatedobject.
 14. The input device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of teethhave an asymmetric profile.
 15. The input device of claim 1, wherein thestrain sensor is configured to provide the electronic signal to indicatea direction of the wheel in moving from the first position to the secondposition based at least in part on a profile of the strain.
 16. A methodfor generating signals at an input device, comprising: detecting, via astrain sensor, a strain that achieves a threshold, wherein the strain isbased on a magnet sheet deforming via magnetic attraction to one or moreof a plurality of teeth of a core of a wheel moving from a firstposition to a second position, wherein the plurality of teeth arecomposed of a ferrous or magnetic material; generating, via a processor,an electronic signal based on the strain achieving the threshold; andtransmitting, via the processor, the electronic signal to a computingdevice using an interface between the computing device and the inputdevice.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first positioncorresponds to a first tooth of the plurality of teeth in magneticattraction with a magnet positioned adjacent to the magnet sheet,wherein the magnet sheet provides a first magnetic field and the magnetprovides a second magnetic field, and wherein the second positioncorresponds to a second tooth of the plurality of teeth in magneticattraction with the magnet, wherein the first tooth and the second toothare adjacent teeth among the plurality of teeth.
 18. The method of claim16, wherein at least a portion of the magnet sheet deformsperpendicularly to a tangent of the wheel when attracted to the one ormore of the plurality of teeth.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein atleast a portion of the magnet sheet deforms within an aperture definedin a housing that rotatably holds the wheel, and wherein the magnetsheet is situated in a plane tangentially spaced apart from the wheel.20. The method of claim 19, wherein the magnet sheet and the strainsensor are coupled together to define a laminated object.